Las Vegas, known as the marriage capital of the World was busier than usual on December 12, 2012 due to the auspicious date. Tourists from Paris, France, Jacqueline Plysier and Dominique Vilay kiss after getting married. Photograph: Steve Marcus/Reuters

Yemeni women clean a steet during a national cleaning campaign in Sanaa, Yemen. The Yemeni government launched the first and biggest ever cleaning campaign in an attempt to break the Guinness World Record with over 200,000 volunteers cleaning a designated amount of space in a short amount of time. Photograph: Mohammed Mohammed/Corbis

Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois, the archbishop of Paris leads a Pontifical Mass in Notre-Dame Cathedral, the first of a series of celebrations for its 850th anniversary. Photograph: Patrick Kovarick/AFP/Getty Images

Demonstrators dressed as mummies hold banners outside a hotel in central Rome in protest against Silvio Berlusconi, who is seeking re-election to political office as Prime Minister of Italy. Read more here. Photograph: Alessandra Benedetti/Corbis

A man walks with his bike covered with bags in central London. Britain recorded its sharpest quarterly drop in unemployment for more than a decade in the late summer and early autumn as strong jobs growth by private companies more than offset labour shedding in the public sector. Read more here. Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters

Newlyweds Julia Trotta and Davide Balula from Manhattan embrace on the street shortly after being married in a civil ceremony at New York City's Office. Hundreds of couples packed the office in lower Manhattan to be married on the date 12/12/12 as this will be the last such triple date for almost a century. Photograph: Mike Segar/Reuters

Usually the epitome of elegance, Cate Blanchett chose a curiously designed dress when she attended the premier of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. With splits in the skirt , a cutout in the back, batwings sleeves with gold lining trim, shoulder epaulette style details, all topped off with a vicar's collar neck line, it had everything from the designers toolbox. Photograph: David Fisher/Rex Features

A child sits as his sister prepares for her first Catholic Holy Communion at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Managua. Around 550 children received their first Catholic Holy Communion during a mass organized by the Sandinistas radio station. Photograph: Oswaldo Rivas/Reuters

An Israeli bus on a road in the E1 area of the West Bank, east of Jerusalem, and west of the Jewish settlement of Ma'ale Adumim, this evening. Behind is the Palestinian town of Issiwiya. Photograph: Jim Hollander/EPA

Geraldine Finucane, (R) and daughter Katherine Finucane (L) and other members of the Finucane family arrive at the Methodist Central Hall, London, to make a statement to the press . According to a newly published report on the notorious murder of Pat Finucane in Northern Ireland, his death may never have happened were it not for state collusion. Read more here. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

A girl poses for a photo before receiving her first Catholic Holy Communion at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Managua. Around 550 children received their first Communion during a mass organized by the Sandinista radio station. Photograph: Oswaldo Rivas/Reuters

A bit below the belt: deputies of the opposition fight with deputies of the majority party during the opening of the newly elected Ukrainian parliament in Kiev. There have been several physical confrontations in recent years amid bitter confrontations between opposition and pro-government camps. Photograph: Sergei Supinsky/AFP/Getty Images

A silent protester in Lansing, Michigan, cries while wearing a sticker over her mouth signifying the loss in wages after Governor Rick Snyder signed the right-to-work bill on Tuesday. Photograph: Paul Sancya/AP

It's that time of year again - a free range Norfolk Black turkey stands in woodland at Church Farm in Ardeley, southern England. Some 200 Church Farm turkeys are due to be slaughtered in time for Christmas. Photograph: Stefan Wermuth/Reuters

Roma people warm themselves by a fire in the lead-contaminated Roma camp for Internally Displaced Persons in northern Mitrovica. Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian families who had been displaced by the 1998-99 Kosovo conflict have moved to their new homes thanks to the support from the European Commission Liaison Office. Until now the families were living in dire conditions in the Osterode camp. Photograph: Armend Nimani/AFP/Getty Images

A paraglider glides over Tignes, in the French Alps. Recent snowfalls have encouraged skiers to hit the slopes and the Tignes authorities have opened certain slopes early. Photograph: Philippe Desmazes/AFP/Getty Images

Conservation officers remove a wing from a Mk I Spitfire that had been suspended from the ceiling in the Imperial War Museum in London. The Spitfire entered service in 1938 with No 19 Squadron and flew in the battle of Britain during the summer and autumn of 1940. Photograph: Oli Scarff/Getty Images

A man walks through the early morning frost in Regents Park in London today. Forecasters have warned that the UK could experience the coldest day of the year so far today, with temperatures dropping as low as -14C.The early morning frost clings to a cobweb in the park, bringing its own beauty. Photographs: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

A spherical pod, named Noah's Ark, designed by Chinese inventor Liu Qiyuan floats on a river during a test in Xianghe, Hebei province. Liu, who has spent about £200,000 on building six pods in eight months with the help of his former furniture factory's workers, is working on his seventh pod. The 17-cubic metre vessels were built to serve as lifeboats in the event of earthquakes, tsunamis and floods. Photograph: Petar Kujundzic/Reuters

Ukrainian opposition deputies wear sweaters featuring portraits of jailed former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko on the front and 'Free political prisoners!' on the back, during the opening ceremony of the newly elected parliament in Kiev. Photograph: Sergei Supinsky/AFP/Getty Images

Buddhist monks take part in a protest in Yangon in support of monks who were injured during a demonstration. Hundreds of Buddhist monks took to the streets of several cities and towns in Burma today to protest against police violence during a crackdown on demonstrators at a copper mine last month. Photograph: Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters

Twitter ye not: Pope Benedict XVI clicks on a tablet to send his first twitter message during his weekly general audience in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican. Photograph: Vincenzo Pinto/AFP/Getty Images

Ding dong! A new bell bound for Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, "Gabriel" appears as the mould is lifted clear after being cast in the foundry of Villedieu les Poeles, Normandy, France. Photograph: David Vincent/AP

A child peeps out of a makeshift shelter by the roadside in New Bataan, Compostela province nearly a week after the southern part of the Philippines was hit by typhoon Bopha. The death toll from the strongest typhoon to hit the country this year has reached over 700 with hundreds more missing. Photograph: Ted Aljibe/AFP/Getty Images

Egyptians make their way past a tank stationed outside the presidential palace in Cairo. Egypt's powerful army has called for President Mohamed Morsi and the opposition to meet later in the day to prevent a crisis over an imminent constitutional referendum. Read our latest report. Photograph: Marco Longari/AFP/Getty Images

Nepalese devotees gather during the Bala Chaturdasi festival at the Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu. Bala Chaturdashi is celebrated in memory of departed family members by lamps and scattering seven types of grains along a prescribed route. Photograph: Niranjan Shrestha/AP

A refreshing dip in the icy waters of the frozen Houhai Lake in Beijing seems quite breathtaking for this brave swimmer. Winter swimming is especially popular among the elderly in China as it is believed to improve circulation and generally benefit health. Photograph: Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images

People gather to pray for Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez at Simon Bolivar square in Caracas, Venezuela. Photographs: Fernando Llano/APDoctors began operating on Chávez in Cuba, his government said, after his cancer returned.

North Koreans raise a toast in Pyongyang after hearing the news of a rocket launch. Reports say that North Korea successfully fired a long-range rocket, defying international warnings. Read the latest on the story. Photograph: Kim Kwang Hyon/APMeanwhile South Korean activists protest against the North Korea regime's actions during a demonstration in Seoul. Photograph: Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Images